Crime writing fans have spent 12 weeks casting thousands of votes to select rising star, Mark Billingham and his novel Lazy Bones as the first ever winner of the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, the only crime literary award to be voted for by the general public. 

Mark beat off strong competition to claim the coveted prize with fellow short listed authors. He pipped to the post a host of other leading names in crime writing including, Simon Kernick, Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Minette Walters, Andrew Taylor, Reginald Hill and Alexander McCall Smith. 

In the winning novel Lazy Bones, Detective Inspector Tom Thorne is back investigating the murder of a recently released rapist, a suspected revenge killing. When another convicted rapist is also found murdered, Thorne is tasked with connecting the victims in order to solve the case of a cruelly calculative vigilante’s bloody justice. 

Of his win, Mark Billingham said, 'I am absolutely delighted to be the winner of the first Theakston's Old Crime Novel of the Year. Theakston's, Ottakar's and the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival have all been hugely supportive and I am incredibly proud to have beaten so many great writers. I am really thrilled that so many people voted.'

As the winner, Mark received £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel at the opening ceremony of the Theakston’s Old Peculier Harrogate Crime Writing Festival presented by sponsor Simon Theakston. 

 'It gives me great pleasure to be sponsor of this prestigious literary award. We offer our congratulations to Mark and his novel Lazy Bones and hope that our association with the award will be a long and successful one' said Executive Director, Simon Theakston. 

The original long-list of 20 novels was made up of British authors published for the first time in paperback in 2004.  Sponsored by Theakston’s Old Peculier and promoted throughout the UK in Ottakar’s Bookstores, the thousands of votes were cast at Ottakar’s 132 stores nationwide and also online at www.harrogate-festival.org.uk/crime

The Theakston's Old Peculier Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, a celebration of crime and detective literature, is now in its third year and attracts a large and enthusiastic audience from around the world.

Festival Director, William Culver Dodds, said: 'We are thrilled to announce Mark Billingham as the winner of the first ever Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. The response from the public has been fantastic and is reflected in the number of votes received. We congratulate him on his win, it is well deserved and we eagerly await the next instalment of the series.'